Gemara Clarity

Shabbos 27a

שבת כ״ז ע״א

Shabbat 27a

Learn Shabbos 27a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 27a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Sources for טומאה of small and non-wool-or-linen fabrics, אביי and רבא on "או בגד", and how to reconcile the two teachings of דבי רבי ישמעאל.

Overview

The גמרא asks where רבי שמעון בן אלעזר learns that a 3x3 handbreadth piece of שאר בגדים (fabrics other than wool and linen) can become טמא. The answer is a ברייתא that reads the extra word "או" in "או בגד". אביי uses that word to include a tiny 3x3 fingerbreadth piece of צמר ופשתים for טומאת שרצים. רבא learns that tiny piece from נגעים instead. The two argue back and forth about whether נגעים and שרצים can be learned from each other. אביי then says that two teachers of דבי רבי ישמעאל disagree. רבא answers that they agree, because one speaks of a small piece and the other of a big piece. The גמרא objects that רבא said the opposite earlier, and answers that either רבא retracted or the statement was really רב פפא's. A reading in רב פפא's name, that 'אף כל' is about כלאים, is rejected as a mistake (בדותא). רב נחמן בר יצחק then starts a new reading, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

מְנָא לֵיהּ?

From where does he derive it?

נָפְקָא מֵ״אוֹ בֶגֶד״.

It is derived from "or a garment."

דְּתַנְיָא:

As it was taught in a baraita:

״בֶּגֶד״ — אֵין לִי אֶלָּא בֶּגֶד,

"Garment" — I have only a garment;

The steps (20)

  1. QuestionWhere does he learn it from?
  2. ResponseIt comes from the words "or a garment"
  3. ProofA ברייתא that reads "or a garment" this way
  4. QuestionWhat does אביי do with "or a garment"?
  5. Responseאביי: it includes a small 3x3 piece of wool or linen
  6. Responseרבא: we learn it from נגעים
  7. Rejectionאביי: נגעים are stricter, so we cannot learn from them
  8. Rejectionרבא: The Torah wrote it by נגעים so we can learn שרצים from it
  9. Rejectionאביי: נגעים could not be learned from שרצים, because שרצים are stricter
  10. Statementאביי: Two teachers from דבי רבי ישמעאל disagree
  11. Resolutionרבא: No disagreement, because one is about a small piece and one is about a big piece
  12. Challengeרבא contradicts what he said earlier
  13. Resolutionרבא changed his mind
  14. ResolutionReally it was רב פפא who said it
  15. Statementרב פפא says the ברייתא is about כלאים
  16. ChallengeThe Torah already says כלאים is wool and linen
  17. ResolutionNeeded for placing a garment on oneself
  18. RejectionA קל וחומר makes the דרשה unnecessary
  19. Conclusionרב פפא's statement is a mistake
  20. Statementרב נחמן בר יצחק starts a new reading